As per The Daily Zombies's annual tradition, we celebrate the very best and most memorable of everything in the year 2010 in our final article of the year.

With the end of 2010, we here at The Daily Zombies reminisces on the year like a fever dream that has past us, honoring some of the truly significant and remarkable events from the infinite stream of pop culture. From Comics, Gaming, Gadgets, Movies, TV series, to Professional Wrestling, these are what captured our attentions throughout the year.

A daunting task without a doubt, read on for our picks of this year's exceptional candidates and feel free to comment on your personal favorites. As per our tradition, this list will be the first installment comprising the top of the thirteen categories, followed by detailed listings of each respective genres sometime further down the line.

Click here for the Top 13 list for 2009. Without further ado, let's get on with the show.

Once again, we have to reiterate that by Anime, we are referring to Japanese animation the likes of Japanese-produced animation films, OVAs or TV series.

And we present to you, what in our not-too humble opinion, the Anime of the year 2010: Highschool of the Dead (学園黙示録, Gakuen Mokushiroku, directly translated as "Academy Apocalypse").

While it might occur to you that being known as "The Daily Zombies", the choice of choosing Highschool of the Dead as the anime of the year seemed awfully predictable. Do be assured that this is not the case here, as we explained our selection, in clear, concise bullet points:

- Insanely voluptuous siren wielding big guns and katana- In-your-face take on the run-of-the-mill zombie theme, hitting the horror element home- Bloody insane, uninhibited amount of fanservice (gratuitous sex and gore)- Kinky jokes- Not high school musical meets zombie- And last but not least, Zombie Apocalypse

Excuse us as we lazily summoned the great spirits of Wikipedia to bring you the below plot synopsis:

Highschool of the Dead is admittedly the guilty pleasure of the year, with its blatant obscenity that warms the hearts of many an undead.

Apart from all the expected distractions as a result of the series's obscene level of fanservice, Highschool of the Dead spots an unpredictable plot, crossed with genuine moments of horror (and an infinite amount of panty-flashing), making for one hell of a great intense anime.

Yes, a most quirky choice. A Chinese Sci-Fi novel (with no English version that I know of) is The Daily Zombies's Book of the year 2010. However, it would not surprise me if the title does ring a bell or two to you, given the level of coverage for the book in the western world (in particular, iO9 should be applauded for their coverage on an otherwise unknown foreign title).

It's the year 2013. With the world economy slipping into deep, nightmarish recession due to a cataclysmic economic tsunami that struck a year earlier, China is stronger and richer than ever before. Reaching the peak of its prosperity, China's citizens grew incredibly euphoric over the country's perceived "Gilded Age". Starbucks is now called "Starbucks Wangwang" after being took over by Wang Wang Group, with its hottest trademark drink across the globe being Longjing Latté, (longan dragon well lattes, 龍井茶). In this age of happiness, there is only one minor little problem: Everyone in China suffers from a peculiar amnesia that took out their memory of almost an entire month in the Spring of 2011. All but three who possessed vague memories of what transpired. They assembled on a mission to find out the truth between the beginning of global economic meltdown and the launch of China's prosperous time.

Reflective of the awe-inspiring economical miracle created by the modern China, the novel provides a cold sharp point of view at the rise of the sleeping dragon with a social-political perspective. A former activist in the novel who is frustrated that her former intellectual comrades have abandoned the fight against repression has to submit to the fact that they have done so in exchange for more comfortable living.

The Gilded Age: China 2013 (《盛世：中国，2013年》) was written by notable Hong Kong writer, Chen Guanzhong (陳冠中) after his Hong Kong Trilogy of novels. Arguably a fictional novel let along being categorized as a Science Fiction, the novel is eerily prophetic as it depicts a terrifying dystopia not unlike that of 1984 by George Orwell.

Surprised... at the fact that Batman and Robin has for two times in a roll took home the Comic Series Of The Year? You shouldn't be, not with the consistent quality of this relatively young but nonetheless seminal series in the sixty-one years of adventures of the Caped Crusader.

2009 was truly a revolting year for Batman, ending with Dick Grayson as the new Batman with Damian Wayne as his Robin. In the early part of 2010, we found ourselves in the middle chapter of "Blackest Knight", solving the mystery of the corpse of Batman found by Superman in the aftermath of "Final Crisis" while setting up the search for the real Batman.

Continuing the search, "Batman vs. Robin" brought us Oberon Sexton, an intriguing all-new character that have many (including Damian himself) wondering his identity. While all signs seemed to indicate that the masked man is in fact Bruce Wayne himself, the twist in the final chapter of the arc confirms the detective in Grayson as Batman, with him exposing Sexton's true identity as the Joker.

A grand finale from Morrison, "Batman and Robin Must Die" loosely crosses over with "The Return Of Bruce Wayne", as the plot that was set up in Batman R.I.P. came full circle as we see an epic finish to the ending of a truly amazing arc years in the making.

A testament to how modern superhero comics can be done effectively on a consistent basis, Morrison, with the extremely capable help from a rotating list of artists from Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke, to Frazer Irving, quite simply put, made Batman and Robin the unmissable series of 2010.

Under the hands of renowned writer Grant Morrison, the Dark Knight has gone bonkers (Batman R.I.P.), killed by Darkseid (Final Crisis), trapped in not one but five historical eras (The Return of Bruce Wayne), and saw his mantle passed on to his favorite protege (Battle for the Cowl). So for those asking what's next, here's something nobody saw coming: Global franchising of the Batman branding, in the next big game-changing arc of Morrison's game plan for the Dark Knight. While Morrison has stepped away from "Batman and Robin" to work on "Batman, Inc", we are quite certain, judging from the first two issues of the new series, that we are in for quite a treat for Batman in 2011.

Being the iPhone maniac that we are, the choice of naming an actual iPhone app of the year turned out to be one near-impossible task. There are so many apps that have literally became a part of our lives, be it the casual time-killer while you are waiting for your next ride, the essential utility that you used on a day-to-day basis, or some random fun gimmick of the day. We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies, astounded by the amazing graphics of Chair's Infinity Blade, knocked myself out with my inner Sanguo (三国, Three Kingdoms) geekism while reading 百家讲坛之易中天品三国 as well as Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. But for the one iPhone app of the year, I would like to stick to the one app I used everyday: WhatsApp.

WhatsApp does one singular function and it does it efficiently. Allowing you to use your smartphone (it is also available on the Android Market and BlackBerry World, while the Symbian version is free for Nokia)'s 3G data or Wi-Fi connection to send text messages to your contacts who also have this app installed, regardless of the platforms.

Registering your phone number as its unique ID (working just like an unique user name), you do not have to type in user ID or email addresses to register yourself or while sending messages to your contacts. And once you are connected, the app will automatically scan through your phone's contact list to identify who among the list are WhatsApp users that you can connect to.

Imagine the amount of SMS charges it can save, especially in terms of overseas messages as you can easily grab yourself a cheap data SIM card for your usage in the countries you are traveling to while staying connected to your close ones back home.

No doubt there are other similar applications that are more or less sharing the same functions, WhatsApp does the job almost flawlessly and till date the developers at WhatsApp Inc. are still working to add more functions. At $0.99, WhatsApp is simply put the most efficient messenger designed to assist you in your daily functions while cutting down your expenses in SMS charges. Yes, a simple app wins the big one.

Bar none. In a year thriving with fixations on the next big thing, we witnessed the release of iPhone 4, the rise of the Android phone led by Samsung's very own Galaxy S, and ultimately, it is Apple's very own iPad that reigned supreme. While iPad is far from being the first touchscreen tablet in the history of popular technology, it is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most successful.

While 2009 belonged to the rise of the netbooks, 2010 is undoubtedly Apple's iPad's. Once again, we bare witness to the tremendous power of branding, as Steve Jobs, along with Apple, once again successfully dictated the civilisation on what's cool and what's not. Weighing at about 1.5 pounds (680 grams) and sporting an astounding 9.7-inch screen, the iPad won fans with its ultra-sleek appearance, while enhancing the already-wildly-successful app store with its exclusive apps.

Although Apple's first venture into the tablet markets aren't exactly perfect, reactions to iPad's have been phenomenal, to say the least. Three million iPads were sold in their first month alone, with the tablet crossing the million mark twice as as the original iPhone. While many might argue that the success story of iPad can mainly be contributed to Apple's incredible branding strategy along with criticism on its status of being an enlarged iPhone, there is no doubt that iPad is here to stay and that the tablet market has changed forever in 2010, and will continue to evolve in the upcoming years.

In a year filled to the brim with innovative concept games from niche developers, big budget blockbuster from major studio, and much-anticipated sequels, who would have thought that what was purported to be Rockstar Games doing a rift of Grand Theft Auto in the Old West would turned out to be quite unanimously, the single best Game Of The Year?

Not us, for sure as we have listed Red Dead Redemption in the outsider "Lucky Seven To-Watch-For List" for our round-up on the Top 13 Most Anticipated Games Of 2010. Boy were we wrong. In a year that brought you the sequel to one hell of a big-name MMORPG, unique interactive dramatic thriller, to the long-awaited finale of a vengeful man taking down gods, all it takes is one remorseful reformed rogue outlaw taking on the Old West to hit the home-run.

And yet, there remains no doubt that Red Dead Redemption is head and shoulder above its peers with its unique combination of an authentic atmosphere, heart-tugging music score, moving voice-acting, one of the most engaging narratives in gaming history, and one hell of a great gameplay in the run-of-the-mill sandbox genre. From season players who just want to enjoy themselves with the multi-player mode online, to casual players who just wants to hop on the horses and go wild in the Old West, to committed players who just wants to enjoy the full experience and the epic storyline in the game, Red Dead Redemption has everything any self-respecting gamer would desired.

And who can forget one of the most heart-wrenching ending in gaming history, and easily the most memorable protagonist of the year in John Marston.

Taking a few pages from the classic spaghetti western films from Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, Red Dead Redemption single-handedly confirms that the long-neglected genre is far from dead, more so that any films that was contributed to the genre in years. Rockstars has once again proven their caliber with Red Dead Redemption's outstanding quality of production, deep and engaging gameplay, spectacular atmosphere, excellent voice-acting, and a magnificent storyline. If there is only one game you play in 2010, it has got to be Red Dead Redemption.

And we haven't get ourselves started on the Undead Nightmare DLC, which is getting rave reviews almost everywhere.

And till now, we are still in awe of how Christopher Nolan (the director who brought us 2000, 2006 and 2008's Movie of the Year, in Memento, The Prestige and The Dark Knight) managed to sell the idea to the powers-that-be in Hollywood to green-lit an actual original Sci-Fi film as personal as such, and the incredible fan-fare and outstanding box office it achieved. The buzz-talk among film critics have credited the film of being a convincing factor for major film studios to green-lit big-budget films by directors not belonging to the Summer blockbuster band. But one thing remain true: Something this articulate and effectively awesome doesn't come by easily. So is scoring the Move of the Year by The Daily Zombies.

A film so intricately woven that we here at The Daily Zombies had to roll out the year's longest article (surpassing even this one) in an attempt to explain it. And this is by no means, indicative that the film were in any ways overtly convoluted. Inception is in fact, quite possibly the most maligned film in history to be accused of having an over-abundant plot. Quite likely to be the film that caused the most heated debates in 2010, Inception is in fact, an awfully straight-forward film with an ambiguous ending that is designed to generate contrasting opinions.

Inception is in essence a heist movie with an additional Sci-Fi element. While you might think that film would then completely overtaken by clever plot twists and action sequences, you are only half-right, as the film proves to be Nolan's most intimate film yet, with its poignant theme of loss and letting go of memories.

Inception is in short, an intelligent movie the likes unseen, that makes you feel intelligent just by watching it. It overachieves in all the genres it inspire to be, with the innovative action sequence in the hotel lobby, the intense mindgames played out in multiple layers of realities, the emotional traumas the protagonist went through, and of course, the unforgettable ending that somehow immortalized the film.

For the record, there are no headlines as such, and the point in this category could have probably benefited slightly if I would just change it to "Top News Stories Of The Year". But that is so stereotypically boring of all the "Best Of" lists out there now. Voila.

Under the good-humored headline, we are actually looking at the very serious issue of WikiLeaks and their fight against the world. Launched in 2006 and spearheaded by Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, WikiLeaks is destined to be both the hero and villain to the organizations of the world, with its commitment of publishing submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources and news leaks.

While WikiLeaks has been blowing the whistle all this while, it is in 2010 where the game got really down and dirty with the release of a video footage in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by US forces, and the Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review. And the last straw that really earned the wrath of diplomats across the globe would be the release of U.S. State department diplomatic cables.

In April 2010, WikiLeaks posted video from a 2007 incident in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by US forces, on a website called Collateral Murder. In July of the same year, WikiLeaks released Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review.[9] In October 2010, the group released a package of almost 400,000 documents called the Iraq War Logs in coordination with major commercial media organisations. In November 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing U.S. State department diplomatic cables, exposing more than 200,000 leaked confidential—but not top secret—diplomatic cables from 274 US embassies around the world, dated from 28 December 1966 to 28 February 2010.

Reactions to the release was a diplomatic nightmare for many, with impacts stretching as far from Singapore (Senior Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's unflattering comments about his nearby countries being posted) to Africa (unflattering remarks from U.S. ambassadors towards the African diplomats). As a result, WTF was born! Bound to quite possibly, the most aggressive acronym ever, WikiLeaks Task Force was launched by the CIA to assess its impact on diplomatic relations of United States. Subsequently, Assange, the silver-haired "Director" of WikiLeaks were arrested in London on December 7th for alleged sexual assaults in Sweden, an accusation many has cried foul as part of a conspiracy.

However, true to WikiLeaks's creed, more leaks are in store for the near future, with Bank of America being the purported target.

And if you are wondering what's Dmitry Medvedev thought of the "Batman and Robin" comment, the office of Russian president has issued a statement calling on non-governmental organisations to consider nominating Assange as a Nobel Prize laureate. Holy Free Speech supporter, Boy Wonder!

Will Assange becomes a true martyr of free speech? Will more intrigue awaits us as more upcoming leaks are released? Stay tuned.

Black Rock Shooter, the protagonist of the 50-minute OVA (original video animation) based on the song of the same name by Supercell and its accompanying music video with illustrations by Huke, has been one of the most popular anime figure of 2010, showing up almost everywhere you look in Tokyo.

And with this awesome 1/8 scale PVC Figure, Good Smile Company perfectly captured the dark, brooding essense of the character, despite the relatively simple set-up.

In a year where we bid farewell to 24, Dollhouse, FlashForward, Heroes, and Lost, we all know 2010 gonna be a hard year as the new shows attempts to fill in the gigantic shoes of their respective predecessors. Fortunately we all knew that there's one show that is unlikely to disappoint us, given its outstanding source. The one show we here at The Daily Zombies have been waiting for: The Walking Dead.

And guess what? It delivered.

An adaptation of Robert Kirkman's landmark zombie comic book series, "The Walking Dead", was written, directed and executive produced by Frank Darabont (Director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). Not always a faithful (admittedly disturbingly so) adaptation, the series does not shy away from its subject matter with tons and tons of gore scenes that are necessary and non-exploitative. And hell was it a sight to behold for a TV series with such intense sequences, not to mention a well-paced script that realistically presented Kirkman's grim yet surreal human drama.

While the series is far from perfect, the actual concept of a long-drawn out zombie apocalypse accessible on a weekly basis is enticing enough for most. Nevertheless, the new materials, in particular the distracting trip to the CDC that tried to explain the outbreak, have indeed been a source of disturbance and would preferably be toned down in the second season.

With the pilot being the most-watched premiere episode of any AMC television series, the six-episodes AMC series has been renewed for a second season of 13 episodes. So, for those intrigued by what Jenner whispered to Rick, stay tuned. The Walking Dead has proven to be the must-see TV series for 2010, whether you are a fan of the comic or not.

As fate would have it, I did mentioned that a rematch between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI would be too convenient for the bookers despite the prospect of a guaranteed solid match.

And I hereby stand corrected at my remarks. The bookers for this all-time classic rematch have indeed struck gold with their writing on this one. With Shawn Michaels looking to seize another opportunity to end the Phenom's incredible undefeated streak at WrestleMania, the Deadman finally relented to the rematch after Michaels's intervention inside the Elimination Chamber cost The Undertaker his World Heavyweight Title. But the rematch comes with one severe stipulation: the Showstopper have to put his career on the line as The Undertaker puts his "streak" on the line. With such severe stipulation, the match was also imposed with a "no count-out, no disqualification" rule. Ever the cocky Showstopper, Michaels rise to the challenge, putting his illustrious career on the line.

The stage is then set for the ultimate rematch of all time. And the question remains: Will the rematch be as good as the first one? While many might resent the notion, in my opinion, this rematch is as good, if not better than the first one. What it lacked in freshness, it more than compensate with the enormous emotions devoted by the two performers and the entire audiences of University of Phoenix Stadium.

While The Undertaker eventually defeat Shawn Michaels, the almost twenty-four minute match is yet again another wrestling 101 clinic for everyone in the backstage with amazing moments from start to finish. Both the Deadman and the Heartbreak Kid threw everything and the kitchen sink into the match, with their myriad collection of special moves on display, from a Figure-4 leglock, a diving elbow, a Last Ride, a Hell's Gate, two Chokeslams, three Tombstone Piledrivers, three Sweet Chin Musics, and one astounding moonsault through a table.

And much like the dramatic and emotionally-heavy finish to Ric Flair's retirement match with Michaels in WrestleMania XXIV (which is totally tarnished by Flair now), this one ended with one hell of a epic moment. With The Undertaker signaling the end of the match by displaying his cut-throat taunt, he stopped halfway (something that is unprecedented in the Deadman's history) and told HBK to stay down. However, ever the defiant showstopper, Michaels completed the cut-throat taunt for Taker, and slap the Deadman in the face, prompting the Undertaker to execute the most dramatic Tombstone Piledriver in professional wrestling history to score the final pin, extending his undefeated streak at WrestleMania to 18–0 while ending Michaels' career. The two performers went on to embrace each other after the match, as Michaels complete his teary farewell to the fans on the "Grandest Stage of them all".

Indisputably the greatest match of this year and probably for some time to come, we are absolutely certain that we will not get to see a match even near this caliber for the upcoming WrestleMania. We here at The Daily Zombies have naively predicted Mr. WrestleMania himself to put an end to The Undertaker's undefeated streak in our prediction article for WrestleMania XXVI. While HBK is still dearly missed, we are glad that he got the retirement match appropriate for a master of the ring like him. Thank you, Shawn.

2010 is undoubtedly, one of the biggest year ever for the good ol' undead as we see zombies invading pop culture on all fronts. Games, movies, TV. The zombie outbreak is indeed infectious as we see dozens of games get intertwined in undead business, from Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare DLC, PSN-exclusive shooter, "Dead Nation", Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops's Zombie mode, to Sega's Yakuza: To The End, and the gazillion iPhone games with zombie theme.

On Hollwood's front, this year's zombie film turned out to have a relatively muted presence. So, as no-brainer (pardon the pun) as it is, it is with great pleasure for us here to honor AMC's TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead". An effective effort to display the fact that a realistic depiction of an ongoing Zombie Apocalypse makes for great human drama, The Walking Dead has predictably gained popularity and acceptance unprecedented for an AMC series.

We have mentioned earlier how The Walking Dead does not blush away from the necessary violence and gore in the face of an ongoing full-blown Zombie Apocalypse. Now you get to see a video comprising every single zombie kill from Season One, courtesy of Eric Linn. Yes, being in a Zombie Apocalypse, expect tons and tons of headshots.